The aim of presented investigationes was asceertainment how influence had the long duration of production cycles on opportunity costs of frozen working capital in the plant and horticulture production. Profitability and threshold of profitability both types of farm production were determined in conditions of Lower Silesia region basing on these studies. The reasearches shown that long duration oh production cycles had influence ont the percentage of opporunity costs of frozen working capital in total costs of the production, although the level of these costs was relativly low in both types of farm production. It was first of all result of low rate of deposit bank and low level of intensity of crops. These opportunity costs of frozen working capital didn’t influence substantially on the profitability of plant and hoticulture production.

The article shows indexes of current and swift liquidity in timely the best 54 agricultural production co-operatives. In this work is also describing defrayment of obligations in supplies and it’s relation to current liquidity. On this ground was stated the optimal structure of working assets in the largest agricultural production co-operatives from standpoint of net profit, middle-year employment and area of agricultural land. But was observed weak connection between the net profit and the share of supplies in working assets, however the middle-year employment and the area of agricultural land were approbating as strongly fastened factors with this share. When employment and area of agricultural land rise, the role of supplies in financial liquidity is falls.

The results of twelve production cycles of broiler chickens, fattened in a private farm in the years 2001–2003, were analysed in the research. The broiler fattening was carried out in the intensive system including straw bedding, and the chickens were weighed every seven days throughout the whole fattening period. The adjustment of the model and estimation of the function parameters: feed costs as well as average and marginal product, were attempted. The intersection points of the average and marginal product functions made it possible to approximately calculate the moment in which further broiler fattening became non-profitable because of the feed costs.

Investments are the most effective factors of development of agriculture. In agricultural farms the fund of accumulation is the main source of financing of investment. However, dispersed agriculture is not able to finance its development independently. The external financing (e.g. credits) plays there a significant role. Efficiency of the investment credit depends on results, which brings its usage and their compatibility with postulated aims of the farm. The paper presents the effects of investment credits used by farmers in the Podkarpacki region.

In this article basic definitions regarding agricultural ground classifications have been presented. It was compared the former classification with the one currently being in force. Consequently, it was described changes in the official formal regulations. According to former classification there were eight groups of agricultural grounds. The new being in force regulations regarding real estate registry of grounds and buildings distinguish seven kinds of agricultural grounds. Changes are with regards to appurtenance of some of grounds to different groups. The being in force classification put in order and extends range of some notions. The introduced changes in regulations made inaccurate some of the elaborations contained in economic and agricultural publications of this domain.

The paper presents the results of research conducted within 20 agribusiness enterprises in Świętokrzyski region. The authors stated large changes in employment and assets. Most of the firms reduced number of their employees (a half of them even more than 50%). The assets’ value was also changed, with falling tendency. These changes were not sufficient to neutralize the decrease of economic powerful of firms. The authors noticed, that these quantity changes were not sufficient. Quality adjustments of management, production technology and contacts with market are also necessary.

The level of infrastructural development plays an essential role in the process of multifunctional development of the rural areas and significantly affects the life standard of the inhabitants. The paper presents the changes in infrastructural outfit of the rural areas situated in the region of the former of Sudety Voivodships of the Lower Silesian region in the years 1996–1999. In the researches elements of technical, social, and economical infrastructure were taken into consideration. Estimation has been based on the number of chosen elements in relation to 100 km² areas.

The first years of Polish membership in European Union will be an important examination for Polish institutions and business units, which are managing and using Structural Funds. All shortcomings may result in not efficient usage of potentially available financial means. In the article a trial of evaluation of our country preparation state for usage of the European Union funds was taken. The evaluation was based on the result of empirical research that had been carried out within the communes of warminsko-mazurskie voivodship. That voivodship is one of these Polish regions, which are distinguished by high unemployment rate as well as other, intensified there, barriers of rural areas development.

Study contains results of research about influence of opinion leaders on the shape of purchase behaviours, made by country- side consumers. There was exploited diagnostic and description methods, and also opinion poll measurement. There has also been used self- estimation and comparative methods. Researches, carried out in 2003, covered the area of communes Biała Podlaska and Lublin. Exploration object was mixed, numbered 248 respondents. It was selected in layer- random way. Stude demonstrates, that 58% of respondents makes purchase decisions according to economic factors- principally the price. However 42% of them takes those decisions under the influence of other people, also opinio leaders. Features of respondents, took into consideration, like sex, age or education, significantly shaped and differentiated consumer’s attitudes towards opinio leaders. Young people, like students, as well as retired people was the most submissive prep leaders. Over 38% of respondents give in passive impact of opinion leaders. They part in shaping attitudes of imitators is to unconsciously relay the models of behaviours and the style of life.

In the article the conditions, which had an impact on development of agricultural producer groups in Poland, have been presented. There have been shown functions of these groups on the agricultural market. The main parts of the paper are results of the empirical researche that were carried out within 62 agricultural producer groups in Poland in 2001–2002. The results of researche have shown many advantages, which farmers got as a result of integrated activities. The advantages consist of finding new sales markets, products’ quality improvement, guarantee of delivery continuity and products’ preparations for sale. Moreover, in farms that belong to group, there have been noticed some changes, which contribute to the improvement of Polish agriculture competitiveness.

The aim of the work was analysis of the activity of community cooperatives ”Farmers Self-Aid” and the estimation of their role in food management in the Lower Silesian region. On the base of carried research result, that cooperatives are characterized expendable material base and by low utilization of production capacity of plants. Renting of object is general practice. The co-operatives under investigation found themselves in a difficult financial situation and the are not able to meet the demands of competition. Significant improvement of that situation requires favourable policy on the part of the government involving preferential credits, investment cost reduction and real support of local authorities and their initiatives. Community cooperatives, following the pattern of other European Union countries, should become the partners of governmental administration in the food management in the region as well as. a crucial element of the development of rural areas.

The aim of the paper is to show changes in family-run farms’ agrarian structure, which appeared, between the two agrarian censuses. The accelerating indicator of the change was restructuring former state farms which land supplied private sector. The analysis of the agrarian changes was carried out in four groups: smallholdings, middle farms, large-area farms and state sector. The greatest dynamism of changes were characteristic for large-area farms which developed ex-state properties by buying them or leasing. Middle farms changed not very much. The position of state sector dropped from 5.0% to 3.8%.

The aim of the paper is settlement which production resources of farm use the farmers leading of non-agricultural activity in urban-rural and rural communes on diverse position in social-economic space and geographical in the Podkarpacie voivodship. The researches have shown that farmers to non-agricultural activity more often engage manpower and use components of farm assets, causing implement of surpluses of manpower and increase in exploitation of assets. However, there are some differences in this range, which depend on the type of commune and her position in social-economic and geographical space, what is connected with the directions of led non-agricultural activity.

The research aimed mainly at recognising regularities of dynamics and structure phenomena occurring on the land estate market. The Treasury real estate in the stage of system transformations was considered in particular. Purchase sale transactions of farmland put in public bids by the State Treasury in the years 1996–2001 was studied. The methodology was based on statistic measures concerning the analysis structure, dynamics and fluctuations. The research shows that the dynamics of farmland prices in 1996–2001 indicated no clear development tendency. It proves that unsteady market being under process of transformation depends on external environment impact, including the demand. Changes of the level of prices connected with changes of macroeconomic factors were visible as well. The research results show also little seasonality of changes of average prices of 1-hectare farmland, different in particular administrative districts.